Sonoma Race Recap
We could not have asked for a more perfect weather weekend at Sonoma Raceway for the start of the International GT West Coast swing.
Some of the best racing of the weekend came in sprint race 1 with JUAN GONZALEZ #81 – Mission Foods Car Amigo and TOMMY BALLESTER #188 with Quirt Racing at California (will be back with TLM later this season), battling throughout the race and finishing nose-to-tail. Click on the in-car video to see the action. Juan finished first overall in the race and followed it with winning the GT4.R category in sprint race 2.
Ballester had a great weekend, after sprint race 1 he took the overall win in sprint race 2 and Sunday’s enduro.
NICK GROOMBRIDGE #76 was determined to join us for the California races but is still awaiting a new race car, so he took matters into his own hands and rented a GT3 Cup 4.0 liter car from Charlie Hayes, who is based at Sonoma Raceway. Nick had a great weekend sweeping the 4 liter category and finishing second overall in the enduro.
JUAN GONZALEZ JR #81X – Mission Foods Car Amigo, returned to International GT racing in the blue and white GT 4.R race car. Juan took second to his dad in both sprint races. We look forward to seeing him a bit more later this season.
Laguna Seca May 2-5
While we are enjoying the gorgeous weather in Napa Valley this weekend at Sonoma Raceway, remember that our Laguna Seca event is just two weeks away. Join us for what is sure to be a great event on the Monterey coast at Laguna Seca for the Cinco de Mayo weekend. Click on the image from last year’s race for registration and the provisional event schedule.
The largest category of the weekend was in Stuttgart Cup and the racing among the Cayman’s was thrilling all three races.
Our 2023 International GT Stuttgart Cup Champion, MARIA MEJIA #11 – Quirt Racing, returned to competition at Sonoma and took up where she left off last year winning the Cayman 3.8 category in sprint race 2 and the enduro. On the podium the entire weekend, she finished second in sprint race 1.
JONATHAN BROWNE #94 (photo above), teammate to Maria at Quirt Racing, returned to International GT competition after a few year’s hiatus, Jon came back with an upgraded Cayman 3.8 (a move up from his 3.4 liter Cayman) and showed early speed posting the fastest qualifying time and winning sprint race 1.
Jon’s father JIM BROWNE #88 – Quirt Racing, also in a “new to him” Cayman 3.8 joined us at Sonoma scoring a second in sprint race 2 and a third in the enduro.
Making his debut in International GT competition was JAVIER LEOS #20 also a Quirt Racing teammate. In fact Javier bought Quirt’s own Cayman and did a very good job as he learns the ins and outs of sports car racing. Javier placed third in sprint race 2 and second in the enduro.
We had several competitors doing double duty in International GT and Trans Am. One of these was DAVID HAMPTON #14 – AR Motorsports, joined us for the third time having raced last year at Laguna Seca and COTA. He was the only Cayman 4.0 but had a fun run with the 3.8 liter cars.
Also doubling up in Trans Am and racing in the International GT Exhibition class were RICK WRIGHT #45 in an Audi R8 and XUANQIAN WANG #22 in a Lamborghini Huracan, both with AR Motorsports. Unfortunately, Rick fought electrical gremlins all weekend but took second overall in sprint race 2 while Xuanqian was victim to a first lap incident in the early Trans Am race and had to park the car for the weekend. We look forward to seeing them both again at Laguna Seca in a couple weeks.
With five of the entries at Sonoma (L to R – Jim Browne, Maria Mejia, Tommy Ballester, Javier Leos, Jonathan Browne) the QUIRT RACING team celebrates their overwhelming success over the weekend!
Laguna Seca May 2-5
Join us for what is sure to be a great event on the Monterey coast at Laguna Seca for the Cinco de Mayo weekend. Click on the image from last year’s race for registration and the provisional event schedule.
Entry Fees for International GT
Please note that starting immediately when you enter an International GT event your credit card statement will show it as a SVRA charge. It’s simply a difference in accounting however we didn’t want you to be surprised at the change of reference. If you have any questions please contact Julie@InternationalGT.net or call (770)380-7770.
Sonoma Photography Available from Bill Wagenblatt
With Chris Green still getting used to daddy duty, Bill Wagenblatt will be the series photographer for our Sonoma event. Bill can be reached at Bill@historicmotorprints.com or call (971)222-6340. Bill will also be at our Sonoma driver’s meeting Friday, April 19 at 8:50am.
Chris will be back at Laguna Seca and for the remainder of the season.
Market Place
SKI Autosports is selling its Audi R8 LMS Ultra which competed in the SRO GT America series in 2023, capturing the Master’s Cup Championship. You can see more photos and race results by clicking on any of the #3 photos to link to the SKI Autosports website. Any questions please contact Kent at 404-323-3822.
Do you have something to sell, looking for something to purchase, a service to provide? Use our Marketplace to promote your race car, transporter or equipment. It’s free to International GT participants. Contact Julie@internationalGT.net or call (770)380-7770
Pirelli Tire Orders
We are proud to partner with Pirelli Tires as the exclusive provider to all International GT events. All Pirelli tire orders for IGT events must be placed with Frisby Tires. Frisby is at track at all IGT events to service our participants.
Click on the tire photo to link to the Frisby site for IGT orders or call (800)373-7390.
2024 Schedule
